Drowning is often linked to beaches and pools, yet a toddler can get into danger in very little water at home: a bucket left in the courtyard on laundry day, a bathtub, a basin, or an uncovered well in a rural house. Young children cannot judge risk and have not learned to swim.<\/p>\n
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), children under five account for almost a quarter of all drowning deaths worldwide. The good news is that simple measures at home help reduce this risk considerably.<\/p>\n
First: never leave a young child alone near water, not even for a minute, during bath time, laundry or cleaning. Supervision should be active: an attentive adult within arm’s reach, not distracted by a phone.<\/p>\n
Second: empty buckets, basins and tubs straight after use. Anything that must stay filled should be kept where the child cannot reach it.<\/p>\n
Third: if your home or farm has a well or water tank, cover it with a sturdy lid that a child cannot move.<\/p>\n
Fourth: put barriers at the doors to the bathroom, courtyard or terrace, use a playpen when you are busy, and fence off any swimming pool.<\/p>\n
Fifth: when you cannot watch the child yourself, leave them with a trusted adult whose job is to supervise, or in a supervised day-care setting.<\/p>\n
Sixth: once your child reaches school age, enrol them in lessons on basic swimming, water safety and safe rescue, in a safe place with trained instructors.<\/p>\n
To learn first aid and safe rescue and resuscitation techniques, ask a doctor or your nearest health centre about training.<\/p>\n
Take a few minutes today to walk through your home and spot every source of open water. It is one of the simplest ways to protect a child.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Child drowning prevention starts at home: buckets, tubs and wells. Practical steps that help reduce the risk, according to the WHO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[6116,5608],"class_list":["post-9320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tip-of-the-day","tag-securite-enfants","tag-organisation-mondiale-de-la-sante"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t